Te Whare Pora: the House of Weaving

Hieke

Te Huringa II period (1900 - present day)

Woven by Te Aue Davis of Ngāti Maniapoto, this contemporary hieke (raincape) was purchased by the Museum in 1997. The Crown Princess of Japan wore this as a sign of her status when she visited Te Papa with the Crown Prince in 2002.

Te Aue’s interest in making pākē (capes) from neinei (Dracophyllum) was kindled after her kaumātua from Otaua Marae in Kaikohe described the waterproof qualities of neinei when collected at a particular time.

The backing of the hieke is woven from muka (flax fibre), with three types of tag woven into it. The reddish tags are made from neinei. These are water resistant. The white kiekie (Freycinetia) and gold pīngao (Desmoschoenus) tags are more traditional in such capes.